Leaside Life Issue 20 September 2013 by Leaside Life

LeasideLife issue 20 draft 2_LeasideLifev1 13-08-23 5:32 PM Page 1

No. 20 • September 2013

Leaside Life leasidelifenews.com

‘This is a death blow’ says the business park president Even though The Rockport Group has cut its condo office plans for the Leaside Business Park by 80 percent, from 200,000 square feet to 40,000, Dag Enhorning, president of the LBP, complained, “This is a death blow to the Park.” At a community meeting at Leaside library this summer, Enhorning said the proposal for condo offices and a self storage building was not “consistent with manufacturing and industrial uses” that now exist. He said the LBP opposes it. Councillor John Parker disagreed. “Face up to reality,” he said. “We are not going to get another Kodak or a Christie’s. Large businesses are going other places, smaller businesses are the way things are going.” Many large manufacturing companies have moved out of the business park. Instead of seven office condo buildings, the new plans submitted to the city calls for two storeys. The self-storage building would have 80,000 square feet. Rockport made the reduction in office space after comments from city planning staff. The site on Wicksteed will also have a Canada Post 33,000 square foot distribution centre. The proposal will be before the North York Community Council later this year. n

Leaside100 1913-2013

THE LAST BATTLERS: Ann Boyd-Skinner, centre, and Gail Malcolm, right, were the last holdouts for eviction at the Talbot apartments. Jade Jenkins, left, head of the tenant association, helped fight the apartment owners.

Talbot tenants all ready to leave By ANDREA VILLIERS It’s over – the last fighting tenants at the Talbot apartments on Bayview are moving out after making confidential agreements with the landlord, even though they complain about harassment. Gail Malcolm and Ann BoydSkinner were the last two tenants of the 97 units to agree to leave after ADMNS Kelvingrove Investment Corp. sent its first eviction notice April 26, saying extensive renovations required everyone to move. TENANTS, Page 6

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Original rink now open, new one on October 6

Leaside Life, September 2013

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Get those skates out. Arena board chair Ray White told Leaside Life at our deadline, that the Leaside Gardens original rink should be open by our delivery time, and the new rink will open for programming on Sunday, Oct. 6. Until then groups with ice contracts for the new rink will be accommodated at the Angela James Arena, about five minutes east of Leaside Gardens, he said: “We’ve informed our user groups of this contingency plan and appreciate how co-operative and understanding they’ve been throughout the past year.” To mark the official opening the arena board is planning a community celebration, tentatively scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 5 at 10 a.m., which will include an open house, a ribbon-cutting, demonstrations by the Leaside Hockey Association, the Leaside Skating Club and the Toronto Leaside Girls Hockey Association, live music, a barbecue, and a chance

for everyone in the community to skate on the new rink for the first time. Other planned events include a ceremony to rededicate the arena’s memorial plaque, which will be mounted on the outside of the new rink [see page 3], and a reception to thank the more than 1,000 community donors. “Thanks to the generosity of Leasiders we’ve raised almost $3.2 million to date, which is more than 90 percent of the way towards our community fundraising goal,” said Paul Mercer, who has overseen the project from the beginning, first as arena board chair and, since 2010, as chair of the expansion committee. “But we’re still looking for someone to make a legacy gift that comes with the chance to name the new rink,” he said. “If you’re that someone, please call me.” 416-421-4944 or leasidegardens@aibn.on.ca. n

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Rink committee wants to honour WW II soldiers

| Leaside Life, September 2013

The Leaside Memorial Community Gardens is trying to track down family members or friends of the 17 soldiers whose names are inscribed on the memorial plaque that was taken down from the original arena near the entrance to the William Lea Room. Board members would like to invite them to a rededication ceremony this fall when the plaque is remounted on the outside of the new rink. In recent years the plaque was somewhat obscured by shrubs and many regular users may never have noticed it. It was removed for refurbishing. The Community Gardens was opened in 1952, built as a permanent memorial to the 17 Leaside men who died during World War II. The plaque was originally dedicated in September 1963, during the 50th anniversary of the Town of Leaside. This is Leaside’s 100th anniversary.

The names on the memorial plaque: Trueman William Albert Anderson Douglas Stewart Brown Conrad Cromer Evans Richard Charles Holmes Vernon John Lazier William Clothier Leamans William Robert Merrall Archibald Allen Muirhead Walter David Newel James George Gordon Peterkin Robert Eric Bowman Pike Clifford Laureano Rae Willard Hugh Rowland Leonard Ogilvy Stalker Richard John Walton William Milton Wilbur James Edward Wilkes If you can provide any information please email it to the arena board at leasidegardens@on.aibn.com. n

Do you know any family members of these Leaside soldiers who died in World War II? This plaque mounted near the Wm. Lea Room will be remounted in the new rink in the fall. “It would be great to try to reach out to them and invite them to attend” a ceremony, says Allan Williams, a Gardens board director. allan@proximuscanada.com, 416-467-6335.

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Interesting figures for Terry Fox Run

Leaside Life, September 2013

Some interesting figures for Leaside for the annual Terry Fox 10K run, to be held this year Sept. 15. Nearby Wilket Creek is the largest site with the largest number of participants in Canada, 3,500 each year. About 400 come from Leaside. And Leaside schools raise lots of money, with Children’s Garden Junior School, at Eglinton and Hanna, well ahead of the pack, with $8,546 raised last year for a total of $87,740.68 since 1981, when Wilket Creek was first used. In descending order: St. Anselm School, $4,465 and $34,679.71. Bessborough, $414.51 and $22,088.45. NorthLea, $729.74 and $10,477.47. Leaside High, $189.74 and $3,657.49. Leaside Children’s House, on Millwood, $100 and $3,286. n

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This realistic style portrait of longtime Leaside resident Pamela Newell Sellers is the only Canadian work in the 2013 BP Portrait Award exhibition on display at the National Portrait Gallery in London, England. It was painted in egg tempera on a birch panel by her daughter-in-law, Leslie Watts, of Stratford, ON, and is one of 55 portraits chosen from almost 2,000 entrants from 77 countries. It will be at the Gallery until Sept. 15 and then tour the United Kingdom until June 2014. Sellers, who now lives in Briton House on Mt. Pleasant, used to live on Bessborough and then at SAHIL on McRae.

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LeasideLife issue 20 draft 2_LeasideLifev1 13-08-23 5:32 PM Page 6

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Leaside Life, September 2013

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From Page 1 Deadline for October, September 10 leasidelife@gmail.com

SOUTH LEASIDE MONDAY GROUP registration day Mon. Sept. 9, 9:30 a.m., Trace Manes Community Centre. For new moms, "veteran" moms and moms-to-be for coffee, socializing and speakers. Caregivers for children. LEASIDE GARDEN SOCIETY, A Walk Down the Garden Path with James Graham, president of the Ontario Horticultural Association, Leaside Public Library. Thurs. Sept. 12,7:30 p.m. Sat., Sept. 14, Leaside Garden Society Annual Flower Show, Leaside Public Library. Public viewing 1:30-3:30 p.m. LEASIDE PUBLIC LIBRARY, individualized tours. 416-396-3835 to book. – Monday Afternoon Book Club: Books, films and discussions. This month’s theme: poverty. Sept. 9, 2 p.m. – Author Talk: Husam Wafaei, author of Honourable Defection: a glimpse into an unfinished chapter of the Arab Spring in Syria. Wed. Sept. 11, 7-8 p.m. – Wills That Work: essential components. Mon. Sept. 16, 7-8 p.m. – Youth Advisory Group: meet other teens, offer suggestions to library collections and programs and accumulate community service hours. Wed. Sept. 25, 4-6 p.m. – Celebrate Culture Day: experimental art workshop with Emma Ates, of Mindful Rupa Arts. Fri. Sept. 27, 2-3 p.m. – Art exhibit: Some Girls in Red Paintings, by Judy Mason, Sun. Sept. 1-Mon. Sept. 30. LEASIDE EAST-YORK CANADIAN FEDERATION OF UNIVERSITY WOMEN, first meeting of the year, Thurs. Sept. 19, Northlea United Church,125 Brentcliffe. Social get-together without a speaker. n

T: 647-748-9177 F: 647:748-9277 1622 Bayview Ave. Toronto M4G 3B7

This was followed with seven letters urging tenants to move by August 31 even though evictions were illegal because building permits had not been issued by the city. Since then Jade Jenkins, head of the Talbot tenants organization, organized resistence. With her help and legal assistance some tenants won confidential special arrangements. Jenkins, one of the tenants in the 19 coach houses not asked to leave, is fighting for better arrangements, services and safety for herself and the others. On June 26 tenants who had not signed an agreement to leave were warned by HPI Realty Management, which has been negotiating with them, that the landlord would apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board for a hearing date for an eviction order for August 31 and would ask the tenants to pay filing costs. On July 24 a board adjudicator adjourned the hearing to give HPI time to get the permits. Jenkins says HPI Realty Management, which has been dealing with TENANTS, Page 37

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LeasideLife issue 20 draft 2_LeasideLifev1 13-08-23 5:32 PM Page 7

Need a little help with meal preparation? Our friendly volunteers deliver professionally prepared meals at noontime. hot and frozen meals special diets available personal preferences happily accommodated For seniors, convalescents, people with disabilities, acute or chronic illnesses, regardless of income level.

Keeping Leasiders healthy and independent at home since 1969 East York Meals on Wheels 416-424-3322 info@eastyorkmealsonwheels.org

Wanna adopt a rat? Some people do, as well as the more usual guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits and cats. And a lot in Leaside are sourced at the local Pawsitively Pets, sometimes as many as 50 animals a year. The owner, Jennifer Ego, thinks she can increase that number if more people know about the service. “We partner through reputable rescues and shelters such as Toronto Animal Services, Beaches Animal Hospital and Animal Alliance,” says Ego. She says most of the animals are adopted by families of campers at her local Pawsitively Pets Kids Camp. Those around the neighbourhood on Friday, Aug. 3 may have noticed damage to the window of Pharma Plus at Sunnybrook Plaza. A car accidently went through the window, but fortunately, only minor injuries were reported. During the police investigation that afternoon, conscientious pharmacy staff set up a temporary post outside the store so that those picking up prescriptions could still do so without entering the building. You may have spotted the “lady with her buckets” on the east side of Bayview. A few years ago, Helen Godfrey started watering the flowers and trees in the planters as part of her Bayview Buckets initiative. This year the rain has been a big help to Godfrey, but thank you, Helen, for your commitment to the city’s greenery, and making sure that no plant in the four blocks north of Davisville goes thirsty. A big shout out to residents and staff at 921 Millwood Rd. who supported the Cooking for a Cause fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Society of Toronto this past July. With a BBQ lunch and prizes donated by local merchants, the event was a big success. Congratulations to the Leaside Garden Society, winner of three first prizes for their program, annual membership brochure and bookmark at the Provincial OHA (Ontario Horticultural Association) competition. The OHA includes 270 societies across Ontario in 19 districts. Local Leasiders and club volunteers, Eileen Fitzpatrick and Shelia Whiteley, directed the design and production of these materials. The opening of SportsClips at 1538 Bayview brings a new concept to the IN OUR HOOD, Page 8

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK

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Leaside Life, September 2013

In our Hood

Men’s Cuts $18 and up Lady’s Cuts $25 and up NEW AESTHETICIAN

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LeasideLife issue 20 draft 2_LeasideLifev1 13-08-23 5:32 PM Page 8

In our Hood From Page 7

Kathleen Kathleen W Wynne, ynne, MPP MPP

Leaside Life, September 2013

Don Don V Valley alley West West

neighbourhood in men’s and boys’ haircuts. The entire shop is designed around sports, with flat screen televisions playing sports events and customers waiting in “stadium seating”. Leaside is SportsClips’ first Toronto location, managed by local Torontonian and marketing professional Laurie Laykish, who’s enthusiasm for the sport-theme idea is infectious. “We were looking for a tight-knit, sports-minded community to open up the first Toronto store,” says Laykish. “Leaside is the perfect fit!” If your garden is lacking some bloom, you might want to check the Annual Flower Show on Saturday, Sept. 14, held by the Leaside Garden Society at the library. It is a breathtaking array of fall’s finest display, with various categories for cut flowers, plants as well as floral designs. Entries come from the club’s over 100 members, with professional judges brought in to give awards. The public is warmly welcomed. n

Constituency Constituency O Office: ffice: 795 7 95 Eglinton Eglinton Ave Ave East, East , Unit Unit 101 1 01 Toronto, T oronto, ON ON M4G M4G 4E4 4 E4 416-425-6777 4 16 - 425 - 6777 www.kathleenwynne.onmpp.ca www.kathleenw ynne.onmpp.ca

IN BRIEF

________________________

The last vestiges of the old service station known as Bill and Vito’s will probably be gone soon. An application to build six townhouses and two detached homes at the corner of McRae and Sutherland has been submitted to city planning. Bill and Vito, now dead, were two World War 11 veterans who started the station and became a place for generations of families to walk to and chat with the owners. ----A child care centre will replace the old Leaside town hall, probably next fall after ABC Academy Child Care completes the purchase of the building on McRae at Randolph. The company already has a site on Bayview at Balliol. ----Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital is looking for volunteers to help in the weekday afternoon swim programs. Retirees welcome. n

LeasideLife issue 20 draft 2_LeasideLifev1 13-08-23 5:32 PM Page 9

Tremco leads in anti-smuggling

SPORTS HALL The proposed Leaside Sports Hall of Fame will announce its list of honourees this fall and has recruited three prominent community members to its selection committee. All three have had some involvement in or knowledge of Leaside’s sport history. They are former University of Toronto field hockey star and comedic actor Phyllis Ellis, former Leafs assistant general manager Bill Watters, and historian Michael Bliss n

Every Leaside resident knows that our local Tremco plant employs upwards of 250 men and women working round the clock producing roofing materials that serve customers across North America. And that its business relies on prompt and orderly border crossings several times a day, every day of the week.

But I wonder how many know that, as a direct result of the foregoing, our local Tremco plant has become a leader in training industry – and local police – in preventing criminal and terrorist elements from using transport trailers as mules for the smuggling of narcotics or other contraband. Earlier this summer I was treated to a tour of a training vehicle that had been kitted out by staff at the Leaside Tremco plant to demonstrate the various ways in which smugglers use legitimate transport trailers for their own purposes. In an unused trailer that would otherwise have been sent for scrap, the staff installed dummy contraband in nooks and crannies that no untrained person would even know existed – but which experienced smugglers know well. In the demonstration trailer, of course, the bogus goods are highlighted in order to help staff and authorities know the places to check and what to be on the lookout for when managing and inspecting shipments. n

Leaside Life, September 2013

By JOHN PARKER

January January - June June 2013 2013 Sold Sold S Stats tatts ffor or L Leaside easide Property TType ype y

Sales Avg Avvg Sold Price Min Price Max Price

Bungalow & Storey 1/2

$868,477

$760,000

$1,025,000

2 Bedrm Semi-Detached

$616,000

$515,000

$690,000

3+ Bedrm Semi-Detached

$799,016

$621,000

$935,000

3 Bedrm Detached No FFamily amily Room

$939,644

$736,500

$1,415,000

3 Bedrm Detached With Family Faamily Room

$1,282,481

$1,025,000 $1,640,000

Family Room 4+ Bedrm Detached No Family

$1,248,069

$1,049,000 $1,393,000

4+ Bedrm Detached With FFamily amily Room

$1,729,381

$1,000,000 $2,700,000

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ShereeCerqua ShereeCerqua Sales Sales R Representative epresentative

MOBILE ILE 416 416 275 275 5224 5224 MOB

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Finding a need for volleyball

Leaside Life, September 2013

Girl Guides is a safe, all-girl environment that invites girls to challenge themselves, find their voice, meet new friends and make a difference in the world. Today’s Girl Guide program helps girls learn about global and cultural awareness, career exploration, science and technology and the arts. JOIN TODAY! FOR MORE INFORMATION: www.girlguides.ca or call 1-800-565-8111

This fall the Leaside Volleyball League will be expanding a program that became successful because of the intuition of two Leasiders: John Child and Christian Redmann. Child, the founder and coach at the club, saw in 2010 that there were some kids who could not play because they did not make a rep or school team. Child reached out to Redmann, whom he was mentoring to make the Olympics -- Child himself is a three-time Olympian and bronze medalist in beach volleyball -- to start a house league indoor program. They founded the Leaside Volleyball League that year with 100 registered members. Designed for girls and boys aged 9 to 15, the league aims to be a fun environment. They play out of Havergal College every Sunday for an hour and a half. Over the past couple years the league has grown to 250 kids with more on a waiting list. Starting this fall, the League will also be playing out of the Bishop Strachan School. n

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LeasideLife issue 20 draft 2_LeasideLifev1 13-08-23 5:32 PM Page 11

LETTERS leasidelife@gmail.com

A thank you to good Samaritans A huge thank you to the good Samaritans that stopped to help me after a very bad fall on Bayview Ave. on July 2. When I finally raised my head and saw the warm smile on the teacher's face and found myself in the comforting arm of a handsome retired police officer, my pain momentarily was forgotten. Also, my thanks to the generous lady driver who stopped to hand me a wad of napkins. Toronto is indeed Toronto the Good. Thank you. Vera Teophil, Burkebrooke Place I think I must be the stupid one for asking this question: why are politicians promoting more development on Eglinton Ave., which will only multiply gridlock from trucks and heavy equipment, while tunnelling and construction for Eglinton subway will block traffic? A second question: if City officials and others have plans for building hi-rises on Eglinton embankments, why are they even considering building, when there is an absolute certainty of more extreme weather events in the future, and a crucial need to reduce emissions by 80 per cent? Surely, preservation of green space is more important than ever, and heavy industrial activity (like that required for building hi-rises) should be much reduced, to remediate the more than 66 days of temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius, by 2049, along with extremes of 57 degrees Celsius. Everyone should read Toronto’s Future Weather and Climate Drivers Study for confirmation of more hellish scenarios to come. Thirty seven city councillors passed a motion to adopt the report in February, and asked seven departments, including Transportation Services, for response to this study by September. A third question: why are we trying to facilitate commuter trips to an already overcrowded subway line; ie, Yonge St.? Would it not be better to rebuild old streetcar routes on the 

Home = Investment IIff yyou’re ou’re tthinking hinking of of selling selling in Leaside Leaside, iit’s t’s ttime ime to to plan he fall fall market market before the leaves plan for for tthe beffore the leaves turn. turn.

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Leaside Life, September 2013

LeasideLife issue 20 draft 2_LeasideLifev1 13-08-23 5:32 PM Page 12

Leaside Life, September 2013

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surface, and dedicate portions of one or two new subways to express service? A fourth “dumb” question: is Toronto built on, or near a fault line? Is the city built on shale? Is that shale prone to collapse? New York City’s transit system is built on granite rock. Is that better? One final question: why are officials still supporting the Official Plan, which seems to have gone past its best before date, after all of the above matters are taken into consideration? Barbara Falby, Heathbridge Park

Leaside Life Published once a month in Leaside,Toronto ON, by Ruth G. Publishing Inc., 66 Donegall Drive, Toronto ON, M4G 3G5 Circulation 8,500 to every door in M4G PUBLISHER: Lorna Krawchuk EDITORIAL: Harry Goldhar, Andrea Villiers ADVERTISING: Ruth Goldhar TYPESETTING: L. Choy

416‐486‐7387

leasidelife@gmail.com

www.leasidelifenews.com

LeasideLife issue 20 draft 2_LeasideLifev1 13-08-23 5:32 PM Page 13

Leaside Life, September 2013

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LeasideLife issue 20 draft 2_LeasideLifev1 13-08-23 5:33 PM Page 14

Leaside Life, September 2013

City did not tell us of big proposal As another summer comes to a close, LPOA anticipates a busy autumn and winter. The issues we were working on before the summer began continue: development proposals (939 Eglinton at Brentcliffe; the former Leaside post office site on Malcolm; an application to add storeys to the Scenic condos on Eglinton), protecting affordable local rental housing (Garden Court and the Talbot buildings, all on Bayview between Sutherland and just south of Millwood), and, of course, traffic matters. While there is nothing new to report at this time on the 939 Eglinton proposal, the developer of the former Leaside post office has gone to the Ontario Municipal Board, charging “failure of the City to make a decision within the Planning Act deadlines”. A city staff report is going to North York Community Council on Sept. 10, and city council on Oct. 8. After numerous meetings with a working group of the site’s immediate neighbours and Brian Athey, LPOA president, no real changes were agreed to by the developer. It

Carol Burtin Fripp Vice-president, LPOA

still remains a proposed high-density design of real concern to us all, on many (no pun intended) levels: traffic, emergency services, lack of public open space…. LPOA will be present at NYCC and at the OMB (second pre-hearing takes place on Nov. 22, and a five-day hearing has been scheduled for Feb. 17. When the application for the Scenic condominium towers was approved for the site on Brian Peck Cres. (on the hill on the south side of Eglinton, east of Brentcliffe), a cap of 965 units was placed on the complex by the OMB. The developer now wants to add 98 more units in Tower 3, without any changes to the massing and height. That would make 1,063 units total, with those in Tower 3 increasing from 218 to 316.

Interestingly, the city did not notify LPOA of the application, but we heard about it from our friends in the Leaside Business Park Association. We have serious reservations about both the application and the municipal process so far, and intend to be very active on this file. Regarding the protection of affordable rental housing in Leaside, LPOA attended a city-held public meeting about the Garden Court apartments in late June. The owner of the complex is applying to convert rental units into condominiums, and both tenants and non-tenant residents of Leaside attended the meeting to show their opposition to both piecemeal (unit by unit) or total conversion proposed by the owner. City staff made an excellent presentation regarding both the city’s official position on protection of rental housing in general, and on the proposals of the owner. A full staff report is expected this autumn. The situation of many Talbot tenants, however, is less satisfactory: the owner of the three Talbot buildings CITY, Page 24

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‘Do you know about the boys?’ Leaside Life, September 2013

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A terrible event, with links to Leaside, occurred on Balsam Lake on July 20, 1926. The lake was the location of the estate of William Mackenzie, co-founder of Leaside, and my family’s cottage. At dusk 15 campers left a leadership camp on Long Point in a canoe. Hours later 11 were dead. A perfect storm of careless acts converged in six hours of horror. Counsellor Robert Shea-Butcher, like many of the boys, could not swim or handle a canoe, the unstable racing war canoe had been altered and slick paint applied, it was overloaded, had no lights or life jackets, an off shore wind killed distress calls, a warning about the canoe was ignored and the boys ate before leaving which may have caused the severe cramping they endured. Robert Shea-Butcher had founded the Brotherhood of St. Andrew leadership group at St. James Cathedral. The war hero applied his exceptional networking, communication and get-it-done skills to the group. He sought out members based on merit from all denominations willing to participate, an innovative approach in a rigid society where opportunity was determined by income and family status and inter faith relations were limited. A reader of Shakespeare. he based the group’s philosophy on the bard’s ideal of the knight with support of friends and protection of the weak a priority. This at a time when workhouse rules were the common level of social conscience. Camper Oliver Mardall lived on Mt. Pleasant Rd. and was a choir member at St. Cuthbert’s on Bayview. He had just started his first job at Wrigley’s, leaving school to help his mom as his father had drowned in the sinking of the Empress of Ireland (1914). According to survivors the boys sang and helped each other and Mardall was indeed a true knight. He swam around the canoe encouraging the boys and diving to take the smaller boys by the ankles to heave them up onto the slippery canoe. The tragic story went global with newspapers from New York to London to Australia following the recovery. At our cottage my grandfather patrolled our shore each morning. One body did wash up. Reverend Lamb of St. Cuthbert’s, vacationing on the lake, found one of the victims. Last to be found was Mardall, still holding a smaller boy, trying to the

Karen Fraser Memories of Old Leaside

THE BOYS: This photo was taken in 1926, just before they set out on their fateful trip. end. Identified by his father’s ring, he was buried in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery. The St. Cuthbert’s choirmaster said Mardall was a genius; he could have done anything. Following a public-demanded inquiry camps across North America increased training and beached war canoes. At the 80th anniversary memorial, cottagers exchanged stories of the tragedy’s effects on three generations: Aunts who never boated again, a woman who could not forget seeing the coffins, all children taught to swim well. A Long Point cottager had purchased the cook shack from the camp from a Dr. Shapley. In the ‘50s my grandparents, of 694 Eglinton East, bought lots next to Dr. Shapley. To my shock I realized they had purchased the camp! My grandfather had taught me to swim at the spot where the canoe had been launched! A Leaside neighbour introduced me to her ailing husband by saying my cottage was on Balsam Lake. He had been a camp counsellor on Balsam in 1926. Through the fog of time and dementia he focused on me and asked, “Do you know about the boys?” n

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Leaside Life, September 2013

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Becky White is doing it again In the spring she rounded up 200 collars, leashes, etc. in less than a week to send to Mexico. They came from dog owners and former dog owners, pet stores and others who helped spread the word. Now she has been collecting for CAAT, the Canadian Animal Assistance Team, to take to Nunavut and the two photos show how she’s doing. She wrote on August 16, “The first picture with the red leashes on the bottom of my front steps was taken a few weeks ago with the donated items gathered up until then. The second was taken yesterday, of brand new dog collars and leashes (128) in total donated by Jennifer Ego of Pawsitively Pets here in Leaside. I have mentioned in previous emails other businesses that are on board too. My church Northlea United Church, Dog Dynamics Pet Salon on McRae, My vet Laird Eglinton Pet Hospital and Pet Valu on Laird. Many dog walker friends have gathered items from clients to add to the collection plus fellow Leasiders. Things are starting to come in from my time on 680News yesterday. I have walked Marlane Oliver's dogs from 680News. She lives in this area. They are going to Nunavut in mid September. I live at 49 Glenvale Blvd. and I am leaving a small bin on my front porch where Leasiders can drop off their donations at any time. The bin is labelled. n

LeasideLife issue 20 draft 2_LeasideLifev1 13-08-23 5:33 PM Page 19

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LeasideLife issue 20 draft 2_LeasideLifev1 13-08-23 5:34 PM Page 20

Leaside100 1913-2013

THERE BE POETS AMONGST US

Even his life was poetic

ANDREA VILLIERS

Leaside Life, September 2013

By ANDREA VILLIERS

DOUG CLARKE in his home in Leaside Retirement Residence in Thorncliffe.

Doug Clarke was six years old when his family moved to 139 Airdrie Rd. in 1939. When he talks about his life since then it seems almost poetic, which may be why he sometimes writes poetry. He played along the bluffs where Leacrest is now and there were wide open fields between Airdrie and Leacrest. Sutherland Dr. and Southlea didn’t exist. Sunnybrook Plaza was a swamp where kids caught frogs. Clarke would go to the theatre on Bayview Saturdays where for 50 cents he’d see cartoons and a movie. He also remembers the bowling alley on Bayview near Millwood. A big attraction was the Thorncliffe race track. Clarke used to sneak in to look at the horses. There was a feeling then, he says, “like you belonged to a community and were growing up in a small town”. His grade 9 classes were in the basement of St. Cuthbert’s Church while Leaside High School was under construction. He recalls the Toronto Telegram referring to Leaside High as “ultra modern” when it opened in 1949. There may have been “100 or 200 kids” that first year “but I don’t really know,” says Clarke. Norman McLeod was the principal for many years and “he wore a kilt”. Clarke’s father Richard Lewis Clarke was chair of the Leaside Board of Education from 1949 to 1951 and then an alderman from 1953 to 1958.

The house on Airdrie was sold, says Clarke, in 1962 or ’63, to former Maple Leaf star Red Kelly, no doubt for more than the $5,400 his parents paid for it. They had chosen Leaside because “it had the lowest mill rate in the country because of the industrial area” and was just “becoming known”. As a young boy of 7 Clarke studied piano at the Lea House, eventually graduating at grade 10 level. What started out as an interest turned into a life long passion. After high school he formed the Doug Clarke Trio — sometimes a quartet — and played at the Toronto Cricket and Skating Club. As the band got famous more regular gigs could be counted on, such as playing at the Granite Club every New Year’s Eve. Clarke played for the Leaside Rotary with and without his band for 50 years from 1957 to 2007. His band broke up about 20 years ago and he struck out on his own. You may have heard him play at the RioCan Centre at Yonge and Eglinton. “I played there every Saturday for 30 years,” he says. Clarke squeezed in his love for music with full time careers. He sold life insurance for 10 years and then moved to Correctional Services with the Ontario Government for 30 years. He retired in 1996. Now he “is busier than when I worked,” he says. Part of it is writing poetry. n

Doug Clarke gave us this poem to accompany the article. I was walking today and found a dime, It gave a reason to write a rhyme. That dime’s been around a long, long time. It used to buy an ice cream cone Or you could make a call on the phone. It would buy candy or licorice sticks Or a coffee to give you a caffeine fix. Today’s prices are a whole lot higher. It costs $2 for a log on the fire. For ten cents you could see a show Or ride a bus where you wanted to go. So the old saying “Can you spare a dime?” Has been out of date for a long, long time. A dime is not much unless you have ten And that’s not enough to buy a new pen. DOUG CLARKE JANUARY 2013

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Leaside100 1913-2013

Leaside Life, September 2013 LORNA KRAWCHUK

His loves: his wife, his dog, Leaside

THERE BE POETS AMONGST US

GEORGE HART By LORNA KRAWCHUK George Hart loved his wife and his dog, and obviously still loves Leaside. After marrying Jean in Charlottetown, PEI, he gave up writing poetry as well as the civilian life when he went into the navy during World War II. Afterwards he got very busy, as only a remarkable man with many talents can, and didn’t have much spare time. He went back to poetry when his wife died in 2005. The dog came along in the mid 1990s. His wife found it at a Prince Edward County shelter. When Hart first saw it, he commented, “That’s a scruffy-looking dog.” Scruff became its name. It was a coarse-coated Jack Russell that Hart took for regular walks in the Rumsey-Millwood neighbourhood for close to 15 years. When Scruff died he sold his home on Rumsey. But he didn’t move out of Leaside. In 2010 he moved into SAHIL (Stay At Home In Leaside), the development at the corner of McRae and Bayview. “We were happy here (in Leaside),” he said. “It became our home. We put down roots here.” George and Jean had moved to Rumsey from Montreal, along with their sixth child, Jennifer, in 1975 when Hart became the executive director of the Social Planning Council of Toronto. He had been no slouch before that: As a young man, he enjoyed acting in little theatre and was part of a

production that won the Maritime provinces division of the Dominion Drama Festival. He taught school before heading to Acadia University in Wolfville on a scholarship to earn an MA in English. During the Second World War he became an education officer, mostly stationed in Londonderry. After the war, he had a strong feeling that we had to create a new world – so he headed off to Halifax to study social work and held a number of positions in Halifax. On the side, he was manager of the Halifax Symphony Orchestra. He then became executive director of the Community Funds and Councils of Canada, before heading to Montreal to help volunteer leaders put together a united fund. Then he moved to Leaside. And now, in SAHIL, as fellow resident Edna Beange says, he has much improved the level of conversation at residents’ gatherings. Sometimes he talks about the old days. After all, 2013 is Leaside’s 100th birthday, and Hart has things to say about those days. He was born on Oct. 15, 1914 in Charlottetown. n

A MURDER OF CROWS A murder of crows happened in Leaside: They single filed the telephone wires And commandeered the trees. Flapping, swerving, changing places; Each look alike strutted And had his say with others. Here was merriment to mock the world. An old man threw back his head in laughter; He was a boy again. At the front door a women clapped her hands To drive away the raucous intruders. GEORGE EDWARD HART WORDSCAPES 11

A poem, from Leaside Life to you We've now been here for over a year and love to hear What you think of what we do. We feel good that the neighbourhood

says we should Keep on doin’ what we do. So have no fear, we hold you dear and the end ain't near.

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Leaside100 1913-2013

Bliss likes Harper’s small town By ALLAN WILLIAMS Prime Minister Stephen Harper and historian Michael Bliss have something in common. Harper told the Leaside 100 Gala earlier this year that he tells everyone he was raised in Leaside, a small town in Toronto. Bliss, one of Canada's bestknown and most prolific historians, has spent his whole married life in Leaside, which he says, “I see … as a small town in the middle of a great city where we have the best of both worlds.” For Bliss and his wife Liz life here now amounts to 50 years. It started in Thorncliffe Park (which was part of the Town of Leaside at the time), then on Macnaughton Rd., and, since June 1973, on Bessborough Dr. in North Leaside. “We’ve been very happy in Leaside,” Bliss says. The couple’s three children, a son and two daughters, all attended Leaside schools and played minor sports. All three children are now married with children of their own. Two are lawyers in Vancouver, the third a school teacher in Toronto. Michael Bliss grew up in Kingsville and says he always loved books, “especially the big heavy ones,” and knew even as a boy that he wanted to write them himself one day. But he studied both science and philosophy at the U of T, taught school for two years at Lawrence Park Collegiate – and got married – before committing to a career in history. The late 1960s was a time of rapid expansion on Canadian campuses and he was hired by the University of Toronto’s history department even before finishing his doctorate. While Bliss liked teaching, it was the book projects he’s enjoyed most. “Both working in the archives and writing in my study are a kind of time-travel, a constant dialogue with the sources,” he says. “A long day’s work writing history can be very satisfying.”

ALLAN WILLAMS

Leaside Life, September 2013

MICHAEL BLISS He’s written about Canada’s business and political history, and was best-known to many Canadians for his frequent appearances on television and in newspapers as a political commentator, especially during the constitutional debates of the 1980s and ’90s. But it is to medical history that he has devoted most of his time and energy. And his most enduring book has been The Discovery of Insulin, which tells the fascinating story of Banting and Best (and Collip and MacLeod), their teamwork and rivalry leading to the discovery in Toronto in 1922 that offered diabetics a chance to live a relatively normal life. The book is still in print after more than 30 years and has been translated into six languages. Bliss is still asked to give talks on the subject – he gave one in Port Hope and another in Washington D.C. in the past few months, and will give another one in Edinburgh this fall. Biographies of two medical pioneers, Canadian Sir William Osler, “the father of modern medicine,” and Harvey Cushing, the founder of modern neurosurgery, published in 1999 and 2005 respectively, were well-received and unlikely to be superseded. And they certainly classify as the big, heavy books he dreamed of writing. Bliss likens a book project to running a marathon, something he did just once though for years he was a regular runner on the streets of Leaside and in Toronto’s ravine parks before his knees gave out. “When you finish one [race or book], you’ve got to pick the next one

and start telling people about it; I like the purposefulness of having a project.” But he says he was exhausted after completing Cushing and won’t tackle another big book. He still keeps busy. He worked until recently with the MacdonaldLaurier Institute promoting intelligent debate on historical and contemporary issues. He serves on the board of trustees of the Museum of Civilization in Ottawa which is in the midst of a transformation into the Museum of Canadian History with galleries scheduled to open in time for Canada’s 150th birthday in 2017. “For the first time Canada is going to have a national museum of its history and for an historian this is really exciting.” He also published his memoirs in 2011, Writing History: A Professor’s Life, an engaging and enjoyable read. He will give a talk about it at Leaside library Nov. 19. And he was involved in the recent attempts to save the back campus at U of T from being converted to Astroturf to host women’s field hockey at the Pan-Am Games. Despite city council approval earlier this summer, Bliss says the battle isn’t over: “We've lost for now – it’s a shameful thing for the university to do – but we'll not rest until we have real grass back on our campus!” “I’ve been blessed with a long life, good health and a lot of energy,” says Bliss, “and I hope to be around for a while yet. I plan to write a new preface for a centennial edition of The Discovery of Insulin [in 2022].” n

LeasideLife issue 20 draft 2_LeasideLifev1 13-08-23 5:34 PM Page 23

Leaside Life, September 2013

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City Leaside Life, September 2013

From Page 14

wants to renovate and update the apartments, which is good. What is NOT good is that eviction notices were served in late spring this year on all tenants. It should have been possible to do these renovations one building at a time, which would have allowed tenants to stay or at least involved minimum disruption to their lives. Instead, timing became an issue, and there was heavy-handed pressure on tenants to leave, so many felt it necessary to seek other accommodation. Many have signed notice of their option to return once the renovations are complete, but we do not yet know when those might be, and what long-term rent increases might ensue. My next column will look at the Leaside traffic study to be undertaken later this autumn by the LPOA and Leaside Unite. Unlike a proposed city-run study, for which funding has yet to be allocated, ours is funded, and will involve Leaside residents in both consultation and planning. n

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Old glacier saved us from major flooding When the big storm hit on July 8, many Leaside basements were flooded, but fortunately no one had to be rescued by the police marine unit as were the 1,400 passengers on the GO train in the Don Valley. Actually we can thank our lucky stars that when the glaciers receded as a result of global warming 12,000 years ago they left Leaside on a plateau overlooking the deep ravine of the Don Valley. The retreating glaciers left a huge body of water known as Lake Iroquois. At that time the Don Valley was only a bay in Lake Iroquois. Much of Leaside was covered by a lagoon cut off from the lake by a sand bar along today’s Danforth Ave. There were many streams, now tributaries of the Don River, that flowed into Lake Iroquois. Many still do, some on the surface and others below ground. As many Leasiders have discovered, some to their horror, three of these underground streams, Walmsley Brook, Northlea Stream and Cudmore Creek, have been identified as flowing through parts of Leaside. The actual course of these streams is difficult to establish but they have been roughly mapped by a joint program of the Toronto Green Community and the Toronto Field Naturalists. According to their calculations, Walmsley Brook enters Leaside about the intersection of Bayview and Eglinton, meandering its way into our industrial area and ultimately into the Don River. The Northlea Stream apparently originates near Broadway and Hanna, crossing the southwest corner of the Northlea schoolyard and joining Walmsley Brook south of Eglinton on Vanderhoof between Rumsey and Sutherland. Cudmore Creek flows through Mt. Pleasant Cemetery and, after 

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Leaside Life, September 2013

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Leaside Life, September 2013

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crossing Bayview between Sutherland and Moore, passes through Sandy Bruce Park, under Moore, down Pottery Rd. and the Bayview Extension into the valley and ultimately the Don River. While we may not know the exact routes of these streams, what we do know is the impact they have had and continue to have on Leasiders. For instance when McDonald’s was constructed at the corner of Bayview and Eglinton, replacing Marwood Motors, the Dodge dealer, the piledriving seemed to go on forever because they couldn’t find a bottom to secure the subsurface parking. We also know that the condo on the southwest corner that replaced Charlie Wilson’s Texaco gas station and the condo on Bayiew just north of Sunnybrook Plaza both require sump pumps to keep their basements dry. Many have mentioned the water table in Talbot Park. Marjorie Sheppard, writing in the July 2013 issue of Leaside Life, refers to the creek at the bottom of Bell’s hill at the foot of the north end of Cameron Cres. David Godbold in his book, The Parkhurst Gang, wrote that as a boy he played in the swamps of Eglinton. From there Walmsley Brook and its tributary Northlea Stream proceed across Hanna, Vanderhoof, Parkhurst and Sutherland to McRae. Obviously it must pass through Crofton Rd. as well because when the late Tom Gaston’s bungalow was demolished to make way for a new and larger home the excavation hit underground water requiring a very costly new basement according to a report in the Toronto Star. Long time Leasiders have told me that an open creek ran down McRae past the original location of the Bank of Commerce which could only be accessed by way of a wooden plank across the stream. From there the stream, now underground again, crossed Laird to run through the industrial area. The map shows it on Commercial St. but the late Fred Bristow, who owned Leaside Fuels then on Industrial St., told me he had no basement in that building because it was built on quick sand. Why is there evidence of ground water in the basement of Leaside United Church and in the backyards of houses on Rumsey Rd, across from Trace Manes Park? No one can be certain as to where these streams and their tributaries have meandered to today. All we know for sure is that they are down there somewhere underneath our feet. n

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Leaside Life, September 2013

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The Eglinton Connects Planning Study, a project of City Planning, is developing a long term vision for the land use and streetscape of Eglinton Ave. from Mount Dennis to Kennedy in light of the coming of higher order transit – Metrolinx’s Eglinton Scarborough Light Rail Transit (LRT) scheme. So far, Eglinton Connects has focussed on: Travelling (re-allocation and greening of the Right of Way (ROW) to allow for increased pedestrian and cycling space; looking at opportunities for mid-rise intensification, and options for six Focus Areas (which include Bayview and Eglinton and Laird and Eglinton). Recently published Volume 1 Report of the Eglinton Connects Planning Study I, documents the research, analysis and vision components of the study as a basis from which to develop and evaluate emerging options for the future of Eglinton. Among its pages are the history, and built and natural heritage. The report identifies the “drivers” (factors such as the topography, the coming of the railways, and the ensuing land speculation, the phasing of residential and industrial development, etc.) that most influenced Eglinton’s landscapes and streetscapes. This approach has many similarities to the Layers approach that was used to organize and tell the story of Leaside in the Layers of Leaside exhibit. Included in the report are descriptions of Areas of Character along the corridor, and of course Leaside is included there as a “potential Heritage Conservation District”. Hopefully Eglinton Connects will elevate the Areas of Character to be an issue for public comment at the open houses in the fall. Eglinton Connects Report 1 can 

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LeasideLife issue 20 draft 2_LeasideLifev1 13-08-23 5:35 PM Page 32

be found at www.toronto.ca/eglinton/materials.htm#reports ____

Leaside Life, September 2013

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A proposed new Costco megastore on Overlea Blvd. was introduced at a community meeting June 19 in Thorncliffe Park. While there are many planning concerns about the application and its implications for the Thorncliffe Park Community and the Leaside Business Park, of which it is part, a major surprise for me (and indeed disappointment) was to learn that all of the existing buildings would be demolished, just the iconic Coke bottle sculpture would be protected or moved. I already hear some of you saying: This project is in Thorncliffe Park, not in Leaside, so why are you mentioning it? Well, actually Thorncliffe Park is an important part of Leaside’s history (it’s Layer 5 in the Layers of Leaside exhibit). The Town of Leaside annexed Thorncliffe Park in 1954, and as a result became the planning body responsible for managing its future development from racetrack to modern community. And development came rapidly, both residential and industrial. 

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THE CHURCH OF ST AUGUSTINE OF CANTERBURY a truly progressive and genuinely friendly Anglican community!

BBQ & Bible Study under the Carousel Wednesdays at 6:30 pm Celebrating Leaside’s 100th 1913-style Worship & Neighbourhood BBQ Sunday September 8, 10:30 am Bayview at Broadway www.SaintAugustine.ca 416 485-2656

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For Over 25 years - A North Leaside Tradition! ion ANNUAL NORTH LEASIDE COMMUNITY FALL BARBEQUE Wednesday, September 11th - 6:00 to 8:00 pm at NORTHLEA UNITED CHURCH - 125 Brentcliffe Rd. (where Broadway and Brentcliffe meet) 416-425-5252 or www.northleaunited.ca (YHU\RQH¶V«:HOFRPH «5DLQ«RU«6KLQH Come out and enjoy some live music, great food, and catch up with one another! Scavenger hunt for the kids! Bring your chairs, your blankets, your salads and desserts, your appetite, and your family and friends Tickets are $7 per person - $5 for seniors and children (10 and under) $20 for a family ± children under 3 are free Tickets are available at the church office, after Sunday morning services, and at the BBQ! HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

Leaside Life, September 2013

Thirty four mid- and high-rise towers were built south of Overlea, mainly around the Thorncliffe Park Dr. horseshoe, between 1956 and the late 1970s. The Industrial and office development occurred north of Overlea, linked to Leaside Business Park by Beth Nealson Dr. The property at 42,46 Overlea was purpose-designed for Coca-Cola Canada by the well-regarded Toronto architectural firm, Mathers and Haldenby, and is widely regarded as an excellent example of mid-century Modernist architecture in Toronto, of which there are a rapidly diminishing number. In front of the office building sits the Coke bottle sculpture created by Walter Yarwood, equally regarded as an excellent example of Modernist sculpture in Toronto. The heritage interest is in the former head office building, rather than the bottling plant. When Coca-Cola opened its doors in Thorncliffe Park on July 22, 1965, this office building was emblematic of Toronto’s shift to the suburban, automobile-driven lifestyle and working venues of the day. Its location in Thorncliffe Park was ideal.

LeasideLife issue 20 draft 2_LeasideLifev1 13-08-23 5:35 PM Page 34

The building was proposed for demolition despite having been approved for inclusion on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties a month earlier. The North York Community Preservation Panel (full disclosure, I am panel chair) had submitted a nomination for listing the Coca-Cola property to the Heritage Preservation Services back in February 2012 as the property was up for sale and its future was uncertain. So at this point it is not protected; however the usual 60 days for the city to consider designating the property would apply in the case of submission of a demolition permit application. ____

Leaside Life, September 2013

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Finally, the Leaside 100 archival committee, which as a subcommittee of the overall Leaside 100 committee, was responsible for the Layers of Leaside exhibit and managing the Leaside Then and Now video production, will become the Leaside Heritage Committee, with a major responsibility to develop a nomination for a Heritage Conservation District in Leaside. If you would like to assist, please contact me at 416 425-8954 or gkettel@gmail.com n

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John Parker Councillor, Toronto Ward 26 Don Valley West

Now there will be upgrading at Trace Manes As I write this article in early August, construction activity on the new arena remains on budget and heading towards a targeted completion that coincides with the start of the 2013-14 house league hockey season. While work on the new rink proceeds, both the existing rink and the pool remain out of commission. This has come at a significant inconvenience to users of the pool in particular, but swimming patrons have been very patient and understanding throughout. I can assure readers that forbearance of all concerned – and the financial contribution of countless local residents – will be rewarded when the new rink opens and Leasiders are presented with a transformed double-pad arena complex. The opening of the new rink will be a landmark occasion by which Leaside residents can celebrate Leaside 100 – the 100th anniversary of the founding of the original Town of Leaside in 1913. In the weeks ahead, Leaside residents will be asked to exercise similar forbearance when the community centre at Trace Manes Park undergoes its own major renovation project in the course of our milestone year. It is somehow significant that the community centre was itself a centennial project that marked Leaside's local gesture to celebrate Canada's 100th anniversary in 1967. That was almost 50 years ago (46 to be exact – equal to the Leafs’ Stanley Cup drought). Users of the facility will vouch for the wear and tear that has shown up over those years. Current plans call for the building to be closed for use at the end of September and for about 12 weeks immediately thereafter to enable the contractor to operate as quickly and efficiently as possible. 

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LeasideLife issue 20 draft 2_LeasideLifev1 13-08-23 5:35 PM Page 36

Leaside Life, September 2013

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Much of the work to be done will focus on building systems and infrastructure. As such, it will be largely invisible to users. Work that will be noticed once the building reopens later in the year is expected to include: - Improved front entrance and supervisor/customer service office; - Upgraded doors, windows, floors, and ceilings; - Reconfigured washrooms; - New countertops in kitchen and washrooms; - Improved room partition in tennis club space; - Improved light fixtures; - Improved plumbing fixtures; - Improved heating, cooling, and ventilation; - Improved signage in accordance with city standards. As with any renovation project, the work entailed will of course cause temporary inconvenience to the many residents who use the facility each day. Staff are under instruction to take every measure reasonably available to them to deliver a satisfactory result but to keep the project on time and on budget. In the end, I look forward to a fresh, improved, community centre that will give us all one more thing to celebrate in our Leaside 100 year. n

LeasideLife issue 20 draft 2_LeasideLifev1 13-08-23 5:35 PM Page 37

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the tenants, has “led such an aggressive campaign against the tenants, many felt they had to go”. HPI has told tenants, who have first refusal for rerenting, that following renovations the building owners, Manitoba’s Civil Service Superannuation Board, may plan to raise rents “significantly above the provincial guideline”. Some tenants have complained about being told that the hot water heating and electrical systems are interconnected and cannot be shut down in stages for renovation, which would mean the three buildings involved could not be evacuated piecemeal. In interviews with Leaside Life on June 10, Luc Cornelli, HPI president, said, “All major stuff centralized.” His partner Greg Fera said, “Coming from one source, central systems that service each building.” But last February new tenants were told by the building manager, since gone, that tenants would be moved into empty apartments during renovations. A report presented in 2010 to the Ontario Municipal Board, which rejected a demolition plan because the building exteriors are protected by the Ontario Heritage Act, says the buildings are three separate entities with three separate boilers. n

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Leaside Life, September 2013

From Page 6

LeasideLife issue 20 draft 2_LeasideLifev1 13-08-23 5:35 PM Page 38

Wynne praises Leaside for paying attention Leaside Life, September 2013

It felt strange to be having a conversation with the Premier of Ontario, with Kathleen Wynne being driven along the 401 between Cobourg and Toronto and me sitting in my living room, but that was how we managed to have what was, technically, an interview. We talked about old times and new. I first met Wynne when she was getting to know the Leaside neighbourhood while preparing for the 2003 election. I was part of the crew knocking on doors and introducing her to people I knew on the North Leaside streets she was canvassing. It was a real eye-opener for me to see how she engaged in conversation with people she had just met, when my style while door-knocking for myself (as a councillor for East York), was to say my name, hand over a brochure and maybe get in the sentence that “I hope you’ll vote for me on election day,” before I headed for the next house. She maintains that conversational style to this day, as many of you now have seen. She won that 2003 election as the MPP for Don Valley West (which includes Leaside) and still retains that seat after two

organized community that pays attention to issues and makes sure that our voice is heard. Over the years, there have been many local planning issues where the ultimate decision was made by the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB). We’ve won a few – most recently, maintaining the Talbot apartments and preventing the expansion of a private school on the old municipal council building on McRae at Randolph. But it’s not an easy, or a cheap process, and often an unsuccessful one from a neighbourhood perspective. In her most recent previous cabinet post as minister of municipal affairs and housing, Wynne had put together a working group of developers, planners, representatives from residents’ groups and builders to discuss possible reforms to the OMB. She also pointed out that the new(ish) City of Toronto Act gives the Toronto the ability to set up its own appeal system, which has not yet been discussed. And when you see her, ask her how she enjoyed the murder mystery book recently picked up at Sleuth of Baker Street on Millwood. n

Lorna Krawchuk Publisher Leaside Life

further election wins. The constituency office for the riding is on the main floor of the Suomi-Koti building at Eglinton and Laird. It’s harder these days for her to actually be in the office, but she “hopes that people in Don Valley West will see that this is my base and that I will continue to connect.” She does her best to maintain these local connections, such as being part of a recent Leaside-based Earth Day clean-up on a rainy Saturday. The Premier also stressed how important it is that communities be involved in decision-making. “Community input is so important. Without community, best decisions don’t get made. You need to pay close attention up front for best results.” This was said while we were talking about Metrolinx and its huge impact on the Leaside community. She stressed that she is expecting a “good community process” with Metrolinx, and also praised Leaside for being an

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Leaside Life, September 2013